Manila Water joins elite Asset Class in 2021 Asean Corporate Governance Awards

Manila Water is among 230 companies from ASEAN member countries to be included in the Asean Corporate Governance Asset Class for the year 2021. This recognition is awarded to publicly listed companies for their outstanding corporate governance practices, following the criteria specified in the ASEAN Corporate Governance Scorecard. Contributed photo

MANILA, Philippines — Manila Water has achieved another milestone as the company was awarded for its outstanding corporate governance practices in the Asean Corporate Governance Regional Assessment for the year 2021.

Manila Water, which gained at least 97.5 points in the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard,  was among 32 companies in the Philippines to be included in the 2021 Asean Corporate Governance Asset Class. A total of 230 companies from the ASEAN member countries were recognized during a virtual awarding ceremony held last December 1. The Institute of Corporate Directors Philippines hosted the ceremony.

The Asean Corporate Governance Awards, based on the results of the Asean Corporate Governance Scorecard (ACGS), is the culmination of robust collaboration and a joint effort by both the public and private sectors through the involvement of market regulators, domestic ranking bodies, and independent corporate governance experts, evaluating publicly listed companies (PLCs) from the six participating Asean member countries, namely, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.

The ACGS is an initiative under the Asean Capital Markets Forum (ACMF) and Asian Development Bank (ADB) based on the corporate governance principles of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

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Through the standardized evaluation of corporate governance practices and principles the Scorecard provides, the initiative aims to raise the overall corporate governance standards of PLCs in the region, increase their visibility to investors, and promote the Asean as a wise investment destination, ensuring that the corporate governance climate in the Asean region remains competitive and conducive to the growth of businesses in Asean jurisdictions.

The ACGS evaluation is assigned by the ACMF to domestic ranking bodies (DRBs) in each Asean participating country, followed by a peer review conducted by the DRBs for participating neighboring countries in the region. Top PLC performers are announced at the ACGS awarding ceremonies.

In 2019, Manila Water received a three-star arrow recognition from the Institute of Corporate Directors for its performance rating against the ACGS of the said year.

In 2018, Manila Water also received the same recognition for its performance rating and was named as one of Asean’s Top 50 Publicly Listed Companies on Corporate Governance at the 2018 Asean Corporate Governance Awards.